Different Death
by TonyStark101
Summary: This is a story set in a different universe, where in the department of ministries, it is Ron who dies instead of Sirius. I follows Harry as his relationship with both Sirius and Hermione develops and as he grieves for his best friend.
1. Chapter 1

Different Death

A/N I have always wondered what would have happened had Ron died in the department of ministries instead of Sirius and finally decided to attempt to write it. As with all the other fan fictions on this site-I don't own Harry Potter, I just like to play around with the universe that J.K Rowling created.

It all happened in barely a second. Everything around him was moving at light speed but his eyes were focused on only one place. Ron. He lay on the floor at the side, the weal around his neck highlighted by his paling face as he slumped further and further down the wall. Just as he was about to make his way towards his best friend to help, a flash of green light attracted his attention on the other side of the room. The killing curse had sailed by him, missing Sirius by a mere hair. Retaliating, Sirius began to fight his crazed, murderous with a passion. The killing curse having missed Sirius soared through the air heading straight towards one of the walls. Harry felt his chest restricting in absolute panic as he saw the curse fly- straight at Ron's chest. Having already been slumped on the floor, there was no noticeable movement from Ron but Harry saw his warm, hazel eyes fall shut, with no heartbeat to support it. Without realizing it, Harry fell on to his knees, his legs now unable to support him. The most painful fire, ignited in his chest resulting in him, unable to speak. Harry, didn't realize Dumbledore apparating in with style only to immediately begin rounding the death eaters up with ease. Nor did he notice Sirius or Remus come up behind him.

Sirius moved with speed he thought he didn't possess, as he rushed over to where his godson was kneeling on the floor. Praying he wasn't injured, Sirius roughly grabbed Harry's shoulders and turned him around. Only then did he spot the lifeless body that Harry had been clinging onto. Ron lay on the cold, hard, tiled floor, blood seeping helplessly out of the side of his mouth. Sirius gathered his godson up in his arms, gently pulling away from the cold body of his best friend. No tears ran down Harry's face. The burning fire that had been lit within him was muffled. Not extinguished. In a desperate attempt to convince himself that what had just happened wasn't real, Harry shut down his emotions.

Hermione didn't know what to think as Sirius carried Harry into the room where they had all assembled. She had been revived just before all the adults rushed into the main atrium to assist Dumbledore as he dueled Voldemort. Sadly, she had been expecting Harry to be there, right in the middle of danger. To see him in Sirius's arms looking every bit the child that she knew they both still were, was frightening. However, nothing she had ever seen before could have possibly prepared her for what came in after Sirius. Limping through the crumbling door was Remus. A look of grief seemed to have been permanently etched onto his face as in his arms lay Ron. He lay helpless in Remus' arms, permanently trapped in his lifeless body.

Her hand flew to cover her mouth as she realized what had happened. Unlike Harry, tears came readily for her, and they rolled down her cheeks as she ran over to Ron. Remus had fallen onto his knees, his arms still carrying Ron. The back of Hermione's pale, delicate hand gently stroked Ron's freckled face as one of her salty tears trickled down onto him.

A/N this is probably a weird place to end it but yeh. Spoiler: Hermione's tears do not magically awake Ron and neither will a true loves kiss. Anyway, hope you liked the first chapter. Please review if you liked it as it really helps.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Harry lay in the Gryffindor dorm room he shared with Ron. The room he used to share with Ron.

His hopeless eyes gazed at the plain ceiling above him, thinking. Constantly blaming himself for Ron's death, his self-esteem began to plummet dangerously low. Wallowing in self hatred, Harry failed to notice Sirius slip into the room. It was only the weight on his bed that made Harry realize that someone had entered.

Gazing into his godson's eyes, Sirius saw and recognized all of the emotions that were flooding through this young man's brain. Having experienced the exact same self loathing when James and Lily had died, Sirius knew exactly how despairing the feeling was. It was heartbreaking to him, to know that he failed someone who had placed their life in his hands yet deep down Sirius knew it wasn't really his fault. Over time he came to realize, that he had blamed himself only as a distraction from his dreadful grief.

Taking his godson's small pale hands within his own, forced Harry to look up and meet Sirius' loving gaze. "Harry, it's not your fault", was all Sirius said, waiting for Harry to speak. As if bursting, Harry released all of the pent up emotions-"but it is my fault! I dragged them all to the department of ministries for no reason! I threw them into a death trap! If I hadn't fallen for that stupid trap, Ron would still be alive!" Harry cried out, looking close to his breaking point.  
"Harry, listen. First of all, you did not drag them there for any old reason. You thought I was trapped there and using your irrational Gryffindor mind, you rushed in there trying to save me. You didn't drag them there either. They knew what was happening when they agreed to go and they took that risk."  
Harry tried to interrupt at this point but Sirius cut him off and continued. "We can all say 'what if' Harry, but it doesn't make anything any better. I drove myself crazy in Azkaban, asking myself 'what if' at every scenario in my life. It didn't help me whatsoever; however, when I pulled myself together and told myself that what was happening now, was happening and nothing I could do to change that, my life began to get back on track . You can tell yourself 'what if' Harry but it's not going to help. You can pretend that Ron isn't dead or that everything is a dream, and I wish it was. But the thing is Harry, is that it's not."  
Hearing the truth come from his godfather's mouth was eye opening. Without meaning it to, a single tear dripped down Harry's face. Making up his mind, Harry decided he wasn't going to push away that burning fire that had resided within him ever since that curse had struck. He was going to fight it. Harry buried his head into his godfather's chest and let his tears flow and extinguish the fire that had stopped him from living.

He wasn't sure how much time, had passed, but after what felt like years, Harry eventually felt strong enough to retract his head from Sirius' lap. He was well aware that had it been any other person who he had broken down with, he would have been extremely ashamed and embarrassed. But over the past couple years, Sirius had changed from a slightly unreliable uncle figure, into a loving and caring, dare he say it, fatherly figure. He didn't know how much he had missed having a stable adult in his life, who he could tell his problems too, without being afraid of the burden it would put on them.

Sirius knew that that crying fit had done Harry good. God knows when the last time his godson had allowed himself to be a child was. Seeing Harry cry into his lap for the past ten minutes had only strengthened his resolve to always be there for him. He knew there was nobody else that James would rather have to replace him as a fatherly figure than himself. He couldn't bear to think what would have happened had he died at that battle. He shuddered as he remembered the blaze of green light that had missed him by barely a hair. He had been rather reckless lately, but Sirius now knew that indulging in a bit of fun was not worth the grief Harry would go through if he got caught by the ministry.

Together, Harry and Sirius made their way down the stairs into the Gryffindor common room. It was almost completely empty bar one fifth year girl. Hermione was curled up in one of the armchairs staring at the blazing fire, her eyes fixated on one particular piece of charcoal that kept on flying up in the air as it burned. As soon as Harry hit the bottom of the stairs, Hermione turned around and stared at Harry with his ruffled hair, and large, sparkling emerald green eyes. Barely a second passed before Harry found himself enveloped in a bone-crushing hug. His shoulder quickly became wet as he realized Hermione had been sobbing into his shoulder. Before Harry could speak, Sirius quickly cut in, aware that someone could walk in at any time. "Harry, Hermione listen up quickly. Dumbledore has given permission for you two to use the floo system to visit Grimmauld place whenever you want to come and talk to me, providing you don't abuse it and miss too many lessons" Sirius winked at the last bit and got a small weak distracted smile from Harry, as he was engrossed in stroking Hermione's hair as she nestled into his shoulder. Satisfied that he had gotten his message across, Sirius pulled a pouch of floo powder from his pocket and then placed it above the fireplace, in a small crack in the wall that was covered by a large Quidditch poster. Taking a small pinch of it, he turned around and gave both the teens a quick hug before clearly saying "12 Grimmauld Place" and vanishing in a puff of green smoke.

As the majority of the school were at dinner and Dumbledore was still absent from the school, probably trying to talk some sense into Fudge, Harry and Hermione felt confident that nobody would walk in. The large window was open, and a sudden breeze filtered into the cozy common room pushing Harry and Hermione to kneel in front of the blazing fire. They sat there in a comfortable silence for a while, both just thinking what their life would hold on from this point. It was about 20 minutes before Hermione broke the silence. "Ron and I were always arguing, but I never realized how much I would miss him-until he was gone. I feel like I should have spent more time with him, appreciated him more. But Harry, while we are grieving, think about his family. This war is just starting, and they have already lost a son. How many more children are they going to have to sacrifice for the peace of our world? How many more families are going to be ripped apart, just because some old madman wants to rule the world?" Hermione's voice was breaking as she cried out what was in her heart. Just as she finished she burst into tears and grabbed Harry's hand. "I know you want to do this alone Harry, and you have more than enough reason to hate Voldemort and want to end him. But please Harry, let me in. I need to do it with you. The inequality and suffering our world has gone through is enough. It needs to end and apparently you are able to do it. But you don't need to do it alone. Heck, where did the prophecy say you have to do it alone!" Still talking through her tears, she fell quiet as Harry pulled her closer. "Okay" Harry said quietly.  
For Hermione, that was all that needed to be said as they lay in each other's arm, eventually drifting off into a deep sleep that they both needed. For the first time in weeks, Harry slept with no stupid premonitions, with the knowledge that he was safe in Hermione's arm.

A/N Yeppp it's going to be Harry and Hermione in case you haven't guessed. Thank you so much if you reviewed on the last chapter as I love reading what you think about my writing. If you liked this chapter  
Review (thanks )


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was a few days later when Harry and Hermione were ready to face the great hall again for a meal. McGonagall had told them that they could take a few days off but they both refused, not wanting to think about it too much. The elves had been bringing them meals in their common rooms and that was where they had spent most of their time. When they weren't doing homework or eating, they were often in each other's arms, comforting each other and it had been quite a few times when one or the other had broken down into tears. Harry, despite everything, had been enjoying the time he spent with Hermione more than he thought he should. These feelings brought on the first bits of guilt as he was the only one who knew that Ron had liked Hermione. He had confided in Harry in 4th year after the ball, and harry had supported him fully as the thought his protective feelings for her were purely brotherly. Now, he didn't think so. He wondered endlessly what Ron would have thought, but inside he knew what would have happened. Ron's vicious jealously would have come out again and those two would have been fighting for months if not forever. He was not ready to put Ron out of his life yet, as pretty much every waking moment was spent thinking about him but he didn't want to let the memory of Ron control his life.

With that thought in mind, Harry squeezed Hermione's hand tightly and walked through the door into the great hall.

Neither of them could fail to notice the somber mood that had settled upon the castle in the last few days. Granted, that was probably to be expected as one of their classmates had died and the dark lord that had terrorized the magical world had returned. But today, as they walked to the Gryffindor table, an unusual silence reigned across the large hall. Harry and Hermione noticed that nobody was eating just sitting, expectantly looking towards the staff table. Only the two friends knew what was going on; McGonagall had approached them and told them that Dumbledore was going to talk to the whole school at dinner today and she had asked if they wanted to say a few words. Harry had originally agreed while Hermione decided to leave the talking up to Harry but thinking about it Harry thought would rather wrestle the giant squid than stand up in the front of the school and talk about Ron.

There hadn't yet been a conversation that included Ron, that hadn't ended with either or both of them crying.

A loud ahem caught Harry and Hermione's attention and they both copied the rest of the student body by directing their gazes towards the headmaster who had come forward. It wasn't surprising, that Harry had been harboring a few ill feelings towards the headmaster. Of course, if the headmaster had confided in Harry about Voldemort perhaps trying to break into his mind he would have never gone to the ministry of magic, so Ron would still-. Harry cut that thought off, remembering Sirius' advice. The headmaster starting his speech brought Harry right out of his thoughts however.

"Students and staff of Hogwarts, we have gathered here to honor the memory of Ronald Bilius Weasley. His funeral will be held in the holidays; however I wanted to allow a student to say a couple of things. I will pass straight onto Harry Potter" Began Dumbledore. Seeing this clear cue, Harry stood up with shaky legs. Before he could start speaking a charm flew at him from next to him. A quick glance at Hermione reassured him however. His now, magically enhanced voice, began to speak. "Ron was one of my best friends and also one of my bravest. He went unquestioningly with me on all of my adventures and was there fighting beside me again at the department of ministries. Earlier on, he had been put out of the fight and he was left unable to speak, with weals round his throat. Just as I realized this, I began to go over to him, but the killing curse got there before me." At this, his voice broke silently and he covered his face with his hands. He didn't have to worry about everyone looking at him as most people in the hall seemed to be in a similar state.

After only a few moments of a silence, Harry regained his voice and continued. "However the reason Ronald Weasley was killed was because of the return of Voldemort." A few people gasped at this but he carried on resolutely. "Voldemort came to take a prophecy that was made about me and him that said in the end one of us has to defeat the other." Getting into the flow of this, Harry decided to say what he and Hermione had planned. He hadn't gone over this with professor McGonagall but it had to be said. "I want to know that Hogwarts is safe. I want us to stand against Voldemort, not against purebloods, not against Slytherin or any other house. Against Voldemort. Is this what we want, living our lives in terror, losing friends, classmates, family? Siding with Voldemort will not see you exempt to this. We all know how he treats his follows. Torturing, killing, maiming them. Is that what we want for our future? Ron's death has not only opened my eyes, it has strengthened my resolve for the future. To create a future we all want to live in. I am just ashamed that it took the death of one of my closest friends to make me realize what we are fighting for." Snapping out of the moment, Harry look slightly embarrassed about the long speech he had just made, but was saved from saying anything more by Dumbledore speaking.  
"Harry has shared some valuable words with us today. Some of you may not take his word, but what he said was equal to the warning the sorting hat gave us all at the start of the year. We need to be united within Hogwarts, lest we destroy ourselves from within. We know people associate Slytherin with Voldemort, but may I tell you, from what I gathered from some of my conversations with the sorting hat, Salazar Slytherin was a resourceful, noble and brave man. The sorting hat sorts people into houses. He gathers what those house's traits are by what the house is viewed by in our time. In the start, Slytherin house was for people with noble ambitions, with the resourcefulness to make those ambitions become reality. However as times change, so do the houses. Sadly for generations now, Slytherin has been viewed on as cunning with ambitions. Nothing has been said to say that these ambitions are negative but that is just what people outside of the house assume. Yet all it takes for this to change is a student's mindset."

On that note, Dumbledore sat down, and the great hall exploded with noise, from the staff as well as the students. "Albus, surely you don't mean to say that the houses are what they are simply because of how our society views them." Minerva cried out.  
"But of course, Minerva" Dumbledore replied smoothly. A spoonful of rice pudding was halfway to his mouth before he paused and said "Oh and I heard that Godric Gryffindor was quite like the young Neville while Salazar was compared to Harry" With that, Dumbledore happily began eating his rice pudding, his eyes twinkling at the sides as he watched Minerva's face pale considerably.

A/N Outofthisworldgal: So did Fudge not walk in when Dumbledore and Voldey were battling it out and is still saying that Voldey is still not back? Or is there another reason Dumbledore is going at Fudge?

Ma answer: Yes, Fudge did see Dumbledore and Voldemort battling and is forced to accept that Voldemort is back. The reason for Dumbledore going at fudge was because of Sirius. He was spotted at the Department of Ministries by aurors so Dumbledore has to explain himself. He is trying to allow Fudge to administer veritaserum to Sirius to confirm his innocence.

A/N2 Thanks to everyone who reviews, I love reading them If you have any questions or preferences as to how the story plays out, please either review or pm me and I will be happy to either answer them or try and include them. Also that last bit about how to sorting hat views society and stuff like that was quite hard to write down so if anyone is confused pm me and I will try to explain.


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